In this article, we dive deep into Level up Your Life by Steve Kamb, a powerful book that will inspire you to become the hero of your own story. Discover how the Hero’s Journey principles can help you break free from the trap of stagnant life, build unstoppable discipline, and take control of your destiny. Learn how to transform your everyday life into an epic adventure, filled with purpose and action. If you feel stuck and want to level up mentally, physically, and emotionally, this book summary is for you! Let’s understand the book’s summary by using Diana’s story.
Diana’s Story:
I’m tired of this life. Every day, the same work, the same people, the same routine.
It feels like I’m trapped in a cage, stuck in the wrong place, with no way out,” Diana was saying to herself while crying. Just then, her phone buzzed with a notification saying her cab had arrived. Wiping her tears, she stepped out of the office bathroom and got into the cab.
Suddenly, it starts raining heavily, and soon after, her car breaks down as well.
This makes Diana very angry. She starts cursing her luck, thinking, “This always happens to me. I can’t even get home peacefully.” In her frustration, her eyes fall on a bookstore nearby.
All these things happen to her, and suddenly, she gets a hint that maybe it’s all being done intentionally by a higher power. Inspired by this thought, she pays the cab driver and walks into the bookstore. The bookstore is quite large, filled with a vast number of books.
She feels confused, and unsure about which book to pick.
Handsome Old Man:
She notices a handsome elderly gentleman reading a book, and he is none other than our Mr. Book. She walks over to him and starts a conversation. When she asks, “It’s my first time in a bookstore. Could you recommend a book for me? Looking at you, it seems like you must read a lot of books.” Dr.The book asks her, “What problem are you facing in your life that you want to solve?
Tell me, and I will recommend a book accordingly. Diana then replies, “I’m 25 years old now, and it feels like my life is on autopilot. Every day, waking up, going to work, doing a job that doesn’t excite me.”
Then, every day, going through traffic to reach home, and after getting home, I was so tired that I didn’t feel like doing anything else. Weeks and months are just passing by like this. The same cycle keeps repeating over and over again. There’s no excitement left in life.
It feels like I’m stuck at one level.” Dr Book. The book responds, “So, you want to level up?’ Diana replies, “Yes.” Dr. Book then says, “Wait,” and after searching a bit, he recommends a book to her titled Level up Your Life by Steve Kamb. Dr. Book hands her the book and starts to leave.
He’s leaving, he pauses, comes back to Diana, and gives her his card. He says, “Just in case you don’t get around to reading this book. But if you want to learn the lessons from this book, just come to my office. My job is to teach people lessons from books,” he says, handing her the card before leaving. As it happens, just as Dr. Book said, Diana buys the book but doesn’t end up reading it.
A few weeks later, she suddenly finds the card again and decides to visit Dr.Book to learn the lessons from the book. That would be much better, and maybe the doctor can teach it more practically.” So, she goes to meet Dr. Book.
After meeting him, Diana says, “When you gave me your card, I felt a bit strange at the time. But now I understand why you gave it to me. You knew very well that I might not end up reading the book, and that’s exactly what happened.
That’s why I’ve come to you to learn the core lessons of this book properly from you. Dr.
Book smiles at her and says, “This is a problem many people face. We often buy books in excitement, but then we don’t end up reading them.
Today, I’ll explain the key lessons from this book to you, but promise me that you’ll go back and read the book afterward. And, you will listen to my words with patience. Diana agrees to both, and then Dr. the Book starts teaching her the lessons from the book.
The story of Writer {Steve Kamb}:
He begins with the story of Steve, the author of the book, Steve Kamb. His life was similar to yours. He was an average person working a nine-to-five job, living a routine life in which he felt trapped. His life wasn’t bad, but he wasn’t happy either. His dream was to travel, to be fit, to live a full-speed, adventurous life.
But all these things felt like nothing less than a dream. He always thought that he would live such a life someday, but that day never seemed to come. Then one day, while Steve was sitting at home playing Video games, he had a realization that changed his life. He asked himself a question: “What if I treated my life like a game?”
While playing, Steve realized how he spent hours on games. He would strengthen his character to make it faster and more powerful, and whenever he got stuck on a level,
he would feel a lot of frustration. Steve thought that this happens in real life too.
Many times, people who become successful in life develop a strong character, while many others get stuck at one level, feeling frustrated. So, why not try to change our lives by applying the same passion, strategy, and focus that we use in games?
Trying to level up became the turning point of his life.
Instead of sitting at home playing a safe game, Steve decided that he would achieve his ‘someday’ goals. He would play in real life instead of playing an adventure-filled game.
After making this decision, he did ten things. Inspired by the game, he took ten practical steps that completely changed his life.
10 Practical Steps Changed His Life:
At one point, his condition was very poor, but through hard work, he transformed himself into a fit powerhouse. In just a few months, he became the founder and author of Nerd Fitness. He changed his life through health and fitness. He created a successful
Businesses that earned six figures and more, without any prior experience.
He built a global community and traveled to over 20 countries. Within just a few years of working remotely, he hiked the trail to Machu Picchu and engaged in many adventurous activities skydiving, and scuba diving, and numerous experiences filled his life with adventure and fulfillment.
How did all this happen? By applying the ten lessons from games to his real Life.” After this, Diana asked, “What are those ten lessons? Will you tell me?
Level-1 Wake up it’s time to level up:
Dr. Book then started with lesson number one: “Wake Up! It’s Time to Level Up.” The
The first thing he told Diana to do was to use her imagination. He said, “Diana, imagine that your life is an ultimate video game in which you are the hero.
You have many stats, such as health, strength, intelligence, wealth, Relationships, and happiness all these stats are part of your character. The problem is that you are currently stuck at one stat, and you need to level up from there.
To do this, you have to view your life not from a Boring perspective, but from an adventurous one. You need to take control of your life. The first thing Steve did is what you must do too. Are you ready? To make that decision?” Diana replies, “Of course, I want to do just that.” He said, “Good!
Level-2 Your origin story:
Now we move on to level two: your origin story. Diana, have you heard about the hero’s journey?
The hero’s journey is the framework is a storytelling framework that has been used in many great movies. For example, have you seen The Lord of the Rings?” Diana replied, yes, it’s a Great movie. He continued, “Okay, let me explain it using that example. The hero’s journey consists of a total of 12 steps, and I’m going to tell you about those 12 steps now. I will explain it using the story from The Lord of the Rings.
The first step is the Ordinary World:
You may have noticed that in the beginning, Frodo is shown living in a quiet, peaceful place small hobbit village where everything is calm and normal.”
Step 2: is the Call to Adventure:
After this, Frodo receives a ring from Gandalf, which reveals to him that it is very dangerous. He gets the opportunity to leave his home and go to Rivendell to prevent the dark forces from using the ring. This is the Call to Adventure.
Step 3: the Refusal of the Call:
This is step three: the Refusal of the Call. Initially, Frodo is reluctant. He feels that this is a huge responsibility and that he won’t be able to handle it. His peaceful life seems the best to him, and this task should be done by someone else.
Step 4: Meeting the Mentor:
Which is step four of any good storytelling: Meeting the Mentor. After that, he meets Gandalf, who becomes his mentor and guides him. Gandalf explains how important it is to destroy the ring and Frodo must complete this journey. Gandalf also gives him practical advice.
Step 5: Crossing the Threshold:
This is called step five of the hero’s journey: Crossing the Threshold. After this, on his path, Frodo faces many challenges. Now, he is no longer safe, no longer in a familiar place. After this, Frodo leaves his town and steps out into a dangerous world, and that’s where his adventure begins. He heads toward a world filled with danger and unknown challenges.
Step 6: Test, Allies, and Enemies:
This is step six, known as Test, Allies, and Enemies. But he also finds many friends, like Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli, who help him on his journey.
Step 7: is Approach to the Innermost Cave:
This is step seven: Approach to the Innermost Cave. After this, Frodo reaches the Innermost Cave,’ which is the hardest part of the journey to Mount Doom, where he must destroy the ring. Frodo then begins preparing to face his greatest fear. Following this comes the biggest test. Frodo faces his greatest challenge.
Step 8: Ordeal:
The power of the ring tries to corrupt him. The ring begins to take control over him, and this is step eight, called the Ordeal. Then comes the ninth step. Despite the temptation, Frodo manages to destroy the ring. Now, the Dark Lord is defeated. He saved Middle-earth from destruction.
Step 9: The Reward:
Which is step nine: the Reward after a long struggle and journey and facing various challenges Frodo destroys the ring and saves his world and his loved ones and becomes something else entirely.
Step 10: Road Block:
Then comes step ten: the Road Back. After completing the entire quest, Frodo starts returning with his friend, but the journey is still not easy. Frodo is wounded, and his experiences are changing. His internal battles are still not over. That was step 10.
Step 11: Resurrection:
Now comes step 11, which is the Resurrection. This is the final test, where the hero has to apply everything he has learned during his journey. Frodo doesn’t die, but he is changed by these experiences. He realizes that he is no longer the same person he once was. After this, he embarks on yet another journey.
Step 12: Return with the Elixir:
And then comes the last step, step twelve: Return with the Elixir. After this, Frodo returns home, but he is no longer the same person. He has a reward, wisdom, and experience all the things that have made him great.
This is the final step now, just like these twelve steps, the author says that in all
of our stories, something similar happens. We all follow this path. In every game, the character, the hero, has to face a similar journey. That’s why we enjoy such movies a lot because they are relatable to us.
The author shares that in his life too, he had to go through many similar experiences where he set a goal to visit all 50 states.” “This challenge wasn’t just for fun, but it became a motivational factor that pushed him.
Meeting new people, embarking on new adventures, and experiencing new journeys helped him grow as a person. And that growth is what led to his success. You too, Diana, need to understand that to change your life, you must embark on a journey you’ve never been on before.
Level-3 Building your character:
After that comes Level Three: Building Your Character. The doctor asked Diana, ‘Diana if you want to change your life, first you need to understand where you are right now and where you want to go.
What is your goal?
In every game, there is a character with a backstory.
What are they like currently?
What they aim to achieve in the end is what’s important. But to do all these things, what you need is building your character. To become a strong character, you must become a strong person.
Diana, do you know that our body is our biggest asset?
But unfortunately, we rarely utilize our greatest asset. We don’t focus on it.” “The doctor said to Diana if you want to change your life, are you working on this asset?
Are you making your body strong, and sharp, improving your skills, and enhancing your resilience?’ Diana replied, ‘No, I don’t have time because of my busy life.
Then the doctor gave the example of Steve, who was also stuck in a similar routine.
To break free, he put in extra effort. He committed to building a stronger character and trained himself. This not only made him physically strong but also mentally resilient,
and all these aspects helped him directly and indirectly achieve his goals. He will give them an adventurous life, which you will also have to do.
Are you ready to do this? Diana replied, ‘If I want to change my life, then maybe I have to, right?’ The doctor said, ‘Yes, exactly, you have to’.
Level-4 What is your game plan?
After this, comes Level Four: Watch Your Game Plan. The doctor explained that to win any game, it is essential to have a game plan. For the game plan, you need to set a few things, specifically two things: an epic quest, which means long-term goals, and side quests, which means short-term goals.
You need to complete both gradually. In the book, there is an example of a person named Saint, who was a member of the Nerd Fitness community, and how he set big goals and small goals for himself. To get fit, his big goal was to become a fit person.
But to achieve that, he set small goals, like walking every day, which eventually transformed into running a marathon.
The author, Steve, also set big goals for himself, like traveling to 50 countries.
To accomplish these big goals, he also set smaller goals because both are
Important. Sometimes people set big goals but don’t think about smaller goals.
The doctor asked Diana, ‘Diana, have you thought about what your life’s purpose is?
What is your big goal?
What is the epic quest you want to accomplish in your life?’
Diana replied, No, if you don’t have a big goal or a purpose, then it’s normal for you to feel lost here. You will become like a ship that has no destination and is just going around in circles in the water, feeling lost. So, make sure to do one thing: create a list of your epic quests, just like Steve did.
Set some adventurous and exciting goals for yourself, whether it’s traveling somewhere or improving your health.” “Set goals that are fun and motivate you to take action goals that pull you toward them instead of needing to be pushed. Just like Steve did, you will then need to create a plan to achieve those goals. In a game, players make plans to complete the epic quests and defeat the boss, they often engage in side quests.
You will achieve small things, such as developing yourself, acquiring new tools, and learning new skills in the game so that you can use all those skills to ultimately defeat the boss. Similarly, you will need to complete side quests alongside your long-term goals. You will have to create a plan that allows you to achieve your long-term goals.
“Once you have achieved this.
Level-5 Build your Bat cave:
You will need to move on to the next level, which is to build your Batcave.
You must have seen how Batman lives in his Batcave. He has created an environment there that helps him fight against his enemies.
He has all the tools and resources there that assist him in achieving his goals. Similarly, the author of this book advises that you should have a kitchen, a workshop, and a workout area where you can stay away from all distractions and negativity.
Try to eliminate junk food, mobile phones, and the internet as well. Create an environment where you can focus on your epic quest and work on it effectively, without any distractions. Next, let’s move on to the level of getting ready for your training montage. Once you have created your environment.
Level-6 Get ready for your training Montage:
What you need to focus on next is consistency. For example, if I ask you right now what your request is, just say the first thing that comes to your mind without overthinking it.
Diana then told Doctor Book that she always thinks about how she wishes she could become an author because if she becomes an author, she can work from anywhere.
Doctor Book said, ‘Great!
So now, what do you need to do to complete this epic quest?
What side quests do you need to accomplish?
Think about it. What talents or skills might you need to acquire to become an author?
What small goals will you need to achieve?
Diana thought for a moment and said, maybe I might need to take some writing courses. I can watch a few videos every day. To learn about writing, maybe I can read some books to understand how best-selling books are written.” The doctor said, “Very smart! Yes, and you’ve grasped it very well.
These will be your side quests. Now, to complete these side quests, you need to focus on the environment that I mentioned earlier. After that, what you need to practice is consistency. You’ll have to carve out a few hours daily and put in the effort.
You’ve seen this many times in movies, right?
There’s a character, a hero, who might have to participate in a boxing match,
but he isn’t prepared for it. So, what does he do? He starts training daily.” “Then there’s a montage of videos where he’s running, with music playing in the background.
Sometimes he’s exercising here, sometimes he’s working out there, and other times he’s running. Start envisioning yourself in those hero scenes. Work on creating your reality as you practice writing. Remember, you are the hero in this game, and you should also have your montage. Diana found this funny but also interesting. She said, ‘Yeah, that makes sense.
Level-7 Join a Culted:
After that, the doctor said, you need to move on to the next level, which is to join a cult.
Steve created a fitness community for fitness, where members motivated each other.
Similarly, it would help if you also went to an environment where writers are smarter than you and some are not as smart. It doesn’t matter what’s important is that you have a supportive community where you all work together towards a common goal.
In games, it often happens that a character meets people who help him achieve his
Goals, and sometimes, it’s also their goal, either directly or indirectly.
Level-8 slay the dragon:
You will have to do the same, and then you should move on to the next level,
Which is ‘slay the dragon.’ Here, you will need to conquer your deepest fears.
For example, what do you think is the biggest fear inside you that is stopping you from becoming an author?
Diana said, ‘I might not be able to become a good author. “I might not be able to earn money from this. Maybe that’s why I’m not starting; it scares me to think, what if I write and no one reads it? What if my book doesn’t sell? The doctor replied, ‘Fair enough.
To overcome this fear, you should take baby steps.
Instead of directly writing a book, it would be better for you to start by writing some articles.’ I can also write guest articles or create videos, like for example. For this lesson, Steve shares a story about Stacey Ardison, who was part of the Nerd Fitness community and was afraid of heights. Which she avoided because she was very afraid of heights.
But on the other hand, she was very fit and she could lift heavy weights. Then she started gradually overcoming this fear. For example, she had a passion for rock climbing but was afraid of heights, so she couldn’t do it. Instead of outdoor climbing,
Stacey took indoor rock climbing classes, where she could safely practice indoors.
Even there, she didn’t think she would complete the entire indoor climbing in one.
Go; no. She set her levels that first she would only climb this much and then come back down.
Then she would climb a little more and come back down again by taking such small steps, she noticed that the time had come for her to go all the way to the top. You can do something similar too.
Diana, instead of starting with writing a book, maybe try to write short articles, create a paragraph, or make a short video where you write or include some images on Instagram, so that gradually you develop your writing habit and overcome your fear.
Level-9 beat the game boss:
After this comes the next level, which is to beat the game boss. After overcoming your fears, you will have to defeat your biggest boss.
Which boss will that be?
It is writing the book. Once you accomplish all these things, then you will go to writing the book in the game. When a character or hero cannot defeat the boss at the beginning, gradually when they do all the things I mentioned earlier strengthen their
Character, making a plan, setting a goal, becoming a strong character, creating a
Game plan, creating an environment for themselves, training, and seeking
With help from others, they become ready to face the boss.
When all these things come together, only then will you be able to defeat the final boss.
Similarly, writing the book is your ultimate goal. To achieve that, you will have to do all these things, and once you do, you will gain confidence. Then you will be able to write the book.
Level-10 The Real World is your Playground:
The real world is your playground, the most important thing. Remember, Diana, that the world is an adventure, not a prison you are trapped in. As the authors of this book also mention, when they started traveling, they began to see their lives as a playground instead of a jail, where they learned something new every day.
They make some mistakes, they fail sometimes. Seldom have they succeeded, and sometimes they don’t, but they don’t take it to heart. They started to see life as a game, like a playground, like a child who falls many times, gets up, and still laughs and plays. Enjoys with curiosity.
And this is what will help you level up the most. The problem is that we want to level up, but we are very afraid.
We fear failure. We are afraid to try new things.
We are afraid to develop ourselves.
We are afraid to become a strong character.
Now, feeling afraid is not wrong. Children are also afraid, but despite their fears, they keep doing things. That’s how they can grow. Similarly, if you want to grow your level, you need to keep taking action despite these fears and see the world as a playground.
Diana likes all of this.
“She can relate so much to Doctor Book that she becomes
a little sentimental and thanks him. The doctor replies, ‘Don’t say thank you.
I would like you to read the book so you can understand its concepts even better. I have shared it in my own way, based on my understanding. It’s possible that when you read the book, you’ll grasp its ideas in more depth and with greater clarity.’”
Diana promised that she would read the book and apply all the things that Doctor Book had explained to her so well, one by one. Now, before leaving, Doctor Book shares a few more things with her. He tells her to keep in mind four additional points mentioned in the book.
CONCLUSION:
First, when you set out to level up, don’t try to improve just one aspect of yourself; instead, aim to develop yourself in every aspect. Whether it’s fitness, personal growth, relationships, or career, aim for holistic improvement in your life.
Then, understand the power of adventure and always lean towards new experiences, growth, and fun. Initially, you might feel like you shouldn’t do it. But trust me, whenever you encounter new experiences, always say yes to them and keep moving forward. Next, always keep moving forward, no matter what. No matter how many times you fail you will definitely.
Still, keep at it. Stay consistent, be resilient, be a little stubborn, and last, and let the adventure begin. Remember, you are the hero of this game. Start your journey. Start your adventure. Don’t be like those who never start their journey. If you get stuck in a race, you remain stuck and never try to do anything else, which is the most important thing to avoid. Diana thanks Doctor Book from her heart for all these lessons and leaves to start her new adventure.
FAQs:
- What is the main message of Level Up Your Life?
- The book encourages readers to view their lives as a “Hero’s Journey,” filled with quests and levels, much like a video game. By applying principles of personal growth, adventure, and discipline, anyone can transform their life into an epic, fulfilling adventure.
- How does the concept of the “Hero’s Journey” apply to personal growth?
- The Hero’s Journey involves stages like starting from an ordinary life, receiving a call to adventure, facing challenges, and achieving transformation. By viewing their life this way, people can identify their own “quests” and tackle obstacles with a sense of purpose, leading to personal growth.
- What are some practical steps from the book to “level up” in real life?
- Key steps include defining your goals, building resilience, developing a “game plan” with long-term and short-term goals, and creating a supportive environment. These steps help maintain focus and ensure consistent growth, just like improving a character in a game.
- Why is building a strong, supportive environment important for personal growth?
- A supportive environment, like Batman’s Batcave, provides the necessary resources and motivation for reaching goals. Minimizing distractions and surrounding oneself with positive influences create a space where personal growth can thrive.
- How can someone overcome fears and insecurities when pursuing new goals?
- The book suggests starting with small, manageable steps to gradually face fears. Just like a hero building skills before a big challenge, this approach builds confidence and reduces fear, making it easier to confront larger goals and obstacles.
